St James Plantation Marina - at a dock

Here's the new addition to Barefoot Landing, notice the complete absence of boats

We had a short run today of only 35 Nm to St James Plantation Marina. We have a dock reserved here for two days to meet with friends in the area. Our big surprise was in passing Barefoot Landing Marina where there was not a single boat docked. We had called for a reservation but received no call back until this morning, which was too late. However, we took the opportunity to ask him about docking in the future. At present, he said there is no overnight docking. They have no water and no electricity. Perhaps in the fall it may be different but for the spring and summer, it's day docking only.

We also saw a lot of new building along the waterfront in the Barefoot area. One structure (photo) really looks out of place and garish It's to be a restaurant with an arcade complete with a rope climbing tower. I guess the new owners are trying to branch out from being just an outlet center. We could see more building in the background but couldn't make out what it was.

The channel in the Rock Pile is fine, just don't stray outside! We went through at low tide, the rocks are usually covered.

We passed through the "Rock Pile" without incident. You just have to be sure to stay in the channel, rock ledges await those who stray. We took on fuel at St. James and we're settled in for the night. On Tuesday night, we've been invited to a dinner with Jim and Eileen McKay. The next day, it's northward again.

I forgot to mention, we passed through Shallotte with a minimum 12.5 MLW just following the buoys and through Lockwoods Folly where we saw 6.4 MLW between R46 and Gt47 on the USACE recommended route. Also, R76 was a little tight at 6.2 MLW. I'll more details in Active Captain and Waterway Explorer.